Drago Papa (born 9 February 1984) is a Croatian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

currently playing for

NK Vrbovec NK Vrbovec is a Croatian football club based in the town of Vrbovec in Zagreb County. It was founded in 1924 and is now playing in the third tier of Croatian football, Treća HNL – Center. Their stadium is called Sajmište ("Marketplace") ...

in the

Treća HNL The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Cro ...

Club career

A product of

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

academy, Papa never managed to break into the first team and he had his professional debut at

Croatia Sesvete NK Croatia Sesvete was a Croatian football club based in the Sesvete district of the City of Zagreb. Previous club names: NK Sljeme (1957–1988), NK Sesvete (1988–1996), NK Badel Sesvete (1996–1997), NK Sesvete (1997–1998). The club was ...

, where he was on loan in the 2002–03 season. He was released by Dinamo in 2003 and then went on to play for

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

sides

Kamen Ingrad NK Kamen Ingrad was a Croatian football club from Velika, a small town near Požega in the northeast of Croatia. The club was dissolved in July 2008 after serious financial problems. History The club was formed as NK Velika in 1929. After Worl ...

and Varteks,

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

before joining

HNK Gorica Hrvatski nogometni klub Gorica ( en, Croatian Football Club Gorica), commonly referred to as HNK Gorica or simply Gorica, is a Croatian football club based in the town of Velika Gorica, located just south of the Croatian capital Zagreb. They pl ...

in August 2011 on a free transfer. He played his first game for

on 28 August 2011, in a match against

NK Vinogradar NK Vinogradar ( en, FC Winemaker) was a Croatian football club based in the village of Lokošin Dol, part of the town of Jastrebarsko. The club merged with NK Jaska in 2021 after the death of Ivan Rubinić, the former owner who helped the club ...

. He was subbed in the sixty-ninth minute. He made his first assist on 10 October 2011, in a match against

NK Pomorac NK Pomorac 1921 is a Croatian football club based in Kostrena, a suburb of Rijeka which currently plays in Croatian third tier 3. HNL West. Kostrena is known for its maritime tradition, which is reflected in the club's name, as the word " pomora ...

. After failing to impress during first half of season in HNK Gorica, he was released and eventually signed for his hometown club

. He had a spell with SV Eberau later in his career.Austrian career stats
- ÖFB

International career

Internationally, Papa played a total of 34 games and scored 2 goals for various Croatia national youth teams. He represented Croatia at the 2001 UEFA European U-16 Championship and the

2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship The FIFA U-17 World Championship 2001, the ninth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Port of Spain, Malabar in Arima, Marabella in San Fernando, Couva, and Bacolet in Scarborough at Trinidad and Tobago between 13 and 30 September ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Papa, Drago 1984 births Living people People from Vrbovec Men's association football midfielders Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's youth international footballers Croatia men's under-21 international footballers NK Croatia Sesvete players NK Kamen Ingrad players NK Varaždin (1931–2015) players NK Slaven Belupo players HNK Gorica players NK Vrbovec players Croatian Football League players Austrian Landesliga players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria